VZCZCXRO1246
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0426/01 1801054
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291054Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0864
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000426 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, P, D, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL CB
SUBJECT: CHIEFS OF MISSION MEET NEW UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR 
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The new UN Special Rapporteur for Human 
Rights in Cambodia, Professor Surya Subedi, made his first 
visit to Cambodia June 15-26, and met with the heads of 
several foreign missions on June 19, including Ambassador 
Rodley.  Subedi has billed this first visit as a "listening 
tour," and an opportunity to gain operational knowledge of 
the human rights issues in Cambodia to accompany his academic 
expertise.  He provided a summary of his first meeting with 
Prime Minister Hun Sen, and sought advice from the chiefs of 
mission on implementing his mandate and initiating a 
constructive dialogue with the Royal Government of Cambodia 
(RGC).  The Ambassadors urged Subedi to cooperate with civil 
society and encourage the RGC to work closely with civil 
society, and stressed the importance of striking a balance 
between building personal relationships with contacts and 
speaking publicly about issues of concern.  END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------- 
Subedi Meets Hun Sen 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Professor Subedi gave a readout of his meetings 
with senior RGC officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, and the Chairman of 
the RGC's Human Rights Commission Om Yentieng.  He 
characterized the two-hour meeting with Hun Sen as 
constructive.  He raised concerns with the PM about land 
issues, the RGC's fractious relationship with civil society, 
and the need for an independent judiciary, but kept the tone 
positive.  Subedi said he hoped for a second set of meetings 
with the PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs before departing 
Cambodia, in order to discuss and agree upon a plan of action 
for future visits.  (NOTE: A wrap-up meeting with the Foreign 
Minister to discuss areas for mutual cooperation turned into 
a courtesy call.  END NOTE.)  Subedi said that in each of his 
meetings with senior officials he has asked how he could help 
those officials, emphasizing his ability to see both sides of 
the human rights issues based on his experience as both a 
government employee (in Nepal's Ministry of Law and Justice) 
and as an international human rights activist. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In public comments, the PM welcomed Professor 
Subedi to Cambodia, but coupled his welcome with a warning. 
He indicated it would be easy to work with the new UN envoy 
as long as Subedi didn't listen to "ignorant" people.  The 
Foreign Minister echoed those comments, and stated the RGC's 
interest in reviewing the envoy's official reports to the UN 
before submission, in order to "check them for balance." 
 
------------------------ 
Ambassadors Offer Advice 
------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In their June 19 meeting with Professor Subedi, 
Ambassadors from Japan, France, Great Britain, and the United 
States welcomed Subedi to Cambodia, expressing support for 
his mandate and congratulations on getting off to a positive 
start.  In response to the new envoy's request for advice, 
the Ambassadors offered their thoughts on how Subedi could be 
most effective in his role.  The Japanese and French 
Ambassadors urged Subedi to talk with NGOs, promote 
cooperation between the RGC and civil society, and attempt to 
work through the bad feelings that persist between the RGC 
and NGOs.  The British Ambassador expressed optimism that 
Subedi was prepared to take on the very tough role as Special 
Rapporteur, and voiced concern over the Foreign Minister's 
desire to review the envoy's reports before submission. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ambassador Rodley told Subedi he was off to a good 
start, and she was glad to see his optimism because it would 
be needed.  She emphasized the importance of building strong 
personal relationships with contacts, and working through 
those relationships to achieve goals, especially on the very 
difficult cases.  She said striking a balance between the 
need to comment publicly on issues of concern and the need to 
work on a private, personal basis with contacts was crucial. 
She illustrated that balancing act highlighting her recent 
public comments at an anti-corruption concert followed by 
subsequent private meetings with officials to understand 
their "allergic reaction" to her comments. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Subedi thanked the Ambassadors for their thoughts, 
and acknowledged that his role would be challenging.  He 
commented that he well understood the importance of NGOs, 
especially in developing countries, and had already met with 
6 groups of various NGOs to solicit their input as well.  He 
said he planned to keep a professional, polite attitude in 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000426  002 OF 002 
 
 
all his interactions with the RGC.  He said his objectivity 
and independence came first and foremost; he would listen to 
and accept RGC input for his reports, but be honest and not 
allow the RGC to dictate the content of those reports.  He 
said his mandate was independent of that for the UN Office 
for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), and 
refused to be drawn into the conflicts that persist between 
the RGC and UNOHCHR.  (NOTE: The RGC has a long-standing 
objection to the UNOHCHR office.  Subedi's visit caused this 
issue to surface again; the RGC commented publicly several 
times on allegations that Country Representative Christophe 
Peschoux attempted in 1999 to take accused Tuol Sleng chief 
Kaing Guek Eav, aka Duch, to stand trial in Belgium, rather 
than wait for establishment of a Tribunal in Cambodia.  END 
NOTE.)  Subedi ended by saying his job was to point out the 
international obligations that Cambodia had willingly assumed 
when signing on to various human rights treaties, and report 
on Cambodia's success in meeting those obligations. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶7.  (SBU) Professor Subedi is off to a better start than 
could be expected, given the RGC's treatment of the previous 
UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Kenyan 
law professor Yash Ghai.  The PM refused to meet Ghai, and 
the strong criticism contained in Ghai's December 2007 report 
to the UN prompted the PM to call him "deranged."  Ghai 
resigned in September 2008, but was effectively banned from 
Cambodia in March 2008 when a Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
instruction to its embassies overseas required visa requests 
from Ghai to be submitted directly to the MFA, where they sat 
without further action.  The UN Human Rights Council renewed 
the special procedures mandate for Cambodia in October 2008, 
but changed it from Special Representative of the 
Secretary-General to Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights 
Council.  As such, Subedi now reports directly to the Human 
Rights Council.  Professor Subedi's commitment to 
professional interaction is a positive first step in his 
mandate, although this first visit may be something of a 
honeymoon period.  The true test may come during future 
visits and Subedi's first required report to the UN, which is 
due in September 2009. 
RODLEY